Our own Roger Sullivan was heavily involved with this and gets a well-deserved check-mark in the “win” column . . .
In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels.
The court determined that a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act has harmed the state’s environment and the young plaintiffs, by preventing Montana from considering the climate impacts of energy projects. The provision is accordingly unconstitutional, the court said.
The win, experts say, could energize the environmental movement and reshape climate litigation across the country, ushering in a wave of cases aimed at advancing action on climate change.
This is interesting — and encouraging — news . . .
Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks are proposing to reduce the hunting quota for wolves statewide from 450 to 289, according to the department and an interview with a spokesperson.
FWP said the wolf population has dropped in the last two years, and it believes the new quota will keep wolves at a healthy and sustainable population per state law.
“State law, set by the 2021 Montana Legislature, requires FWP to reduce wolf populations in Montana to a sustainable level,” said Greg Lemon, FWP public information officer. “We believe the quota of 289 wolves will meet that statutory requirement while ensuring a healthy wolf population in the state.”
This announcement comes a year after the wolf numbers fell in 2022, according to the 2022 FWP Wolf Report.
For this year’s annual meeting we’ve invited Liz Fairbanks, a Road Ecologist at The Center for Large Landscapes, to help us better understand the role a road (or road systems) plays in an ecosystem.
We would love for you to be among our honored guests.
5:30pm
Potluck supper
6:45pm
Short business meeting to elect officers and members of the Board of Directors and report on the work of NFPA
7:30pm
Speaker
We are excited to spend an evening with all of you, share with you what we’ve been up to, and look forward to a great presentation.
Gray wolf – John and Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Last Saturday’s (June 17) Bozeman Daily Chronicle carried a guest column by Douglas W. Smith and our own Diane Boyd on the importance of using accurate, science-based methods in wolf management . . .
This summer offers a timely opportunity to help craft a new wolf management plan being written by Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP). Wolves are always controversial, and this new plan is an opportunity to reinstate scientifically-based wildlife management. We are concerned that, of late, Montana has managed wolves in a fashion that emphasizes population reductions without clear evidence or adequate justification. Montana has provided for hunter and trapper opportunity and, despite misconceptions about wolf-elk interactions, elk have maintained healthy populations across the state and are even overabundant in some game management units. Livestock depredations are very low, less than 1/10 of 1 percent of all cattle losses in 2021.
The fundamental issue is an accurate population estimate — all wildlife management decisions depend on this. Wolves are hard to count. Initially Montana estimated numbers by MTFWP staff conducting field work along with radio collaring to come up with a minimum count of wolves across the western third of the state where most wolves live. As wolf numbers grew this method became impractical, so the state switched to a method that estimates numbers based on wolf sightings by hunters with resulting data plugged into a model. This model, called an integrated Patch Occupancy Model or iPOM, uses some other information about wolves like territory size and pack size, and calculates a population estimate.
This method is well-known and respected scientifically for estimating distribution (the area occupied). It is not known to be a good abundance estimator. The rationale is that Montana wolves are thought to be well above the required minimum set by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, hence a precise estimate is not necessary. For scientifically based management of a high-profile predator, we need a better population estimate.
NFPA/Polebridge Bear Smart is offering Kodiak brand 96 gallon bear resistant garbage containers for loan or purchase at a reduced price. This opportunity is being made to the Polebridge community with the help of grants and private donations.
Purchase price per canister is $300.
Canister Loan Program fee is on an able-to-pay basis.
Cans are available now! Please contact Suzanne Hildner sdhildner@icloud.com or (406) 253-3263 to purchase or rent.
NFPA is excited to announce that we are the recipient of a Vital Ground Partner Grant for our Polebridge Bear Smart program. These funds will help us expand our seasonal employee training, aid in our efforts to help short term rentals owners educate their guests about living and recreating safely in bear country and initiate a rapid response program in connection with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to help property owners discourage bears from becoming habituated. We are honored and delighted to be partnering with Vital Ground in this effort.
A landmark climate change trial opened on Monday in Montana, where a group of young people are contending that the state’s embrace of fossil fuels is destroying pristine environments, upending cultural traditions and robbing young residents of a healthy future.
The case, more than a decade in the making, is the first of a series of similar challenges pending in various states as part of an effort to increase pressure on policymakers to take more urgent action on emissions.
Flathead National Forest – view of Whitefish Divide
Following an updated assessment by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the 2018 Flathead Forest management plan. . .
An appeals court has decided that the Flathead National Forest management plan adequately addresses endangered species, now that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service updated its assessment of the plan.
On Friday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals filed a five-page memorandum in favor of the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, agreeing with federal district court Judge Donald Molloy that the Flathead National Forest properly considered public challenges to its 2018 Management Plan so the plan can stand.
“Therefore, the Forest Service did not ignore any adverse impact of the (final environmental impact statement on grizzly bears and bull trout) and took ‘the requisite hard look’ at the environmental consequences of its actions, regardless whether Swan View agrees with its scientific conclusion,” the three-judge panel wrote.
Kurt Steele, Flathead National Forest Supervisor has moved to a position with Region 1 Forest Headquarters. In the meantime, Deputy Flathead Forest Supervisor Tami McKenzie is holding the fort . . .
Flathead National Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele has accepted a new position at the U.S. Forest Service’s Northern Region headquarters in Missoula, capping a three-and-a-half-year stint overseeing 2.4 million forested acres in northwest Montana that in the past year had become beset in controversy.
Tami MacKenzie
According to an agency spokesperson, Steele “was offered and accepted” a new post as deputy director at the regional office that involves “environmental planning,” although the details of the position are still being worked out.
“I think it’s just a lateral move to a position at the regional office level,” Dan Hottle, the federal agency’s northern region public information officer, said Friday afternoon, when details about the transition were still scant. “It’s a new role and he will work closely with the regional leadership team on a number of different projects across the region as deputy director. His start date is still being negotiated right now.”
Garret Tovey of Glacier Institute discusses the correct way to deploy bear spray at Polebridge Bear Smart training session, May 24, 2023 – photo by Suzanne Hildner
Polebridge Bear Smart (PBBS) is looking forward to a busy summer with continuation of existing projects and the addition of exciting new ones.
The late spring/early summer season is in full swing with the first of two PBBS trainings for seasonal employees of Polebridge businesses completed on May 24th. This year the program was advanced by partnering with the Glacier Institute as well as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) both of whom were on hand to help with training, providing inert bear spray for practice and to answer the insightful questions posed by participants.
Bears Zoë Zardis and Jennifer Pentrack entertained participants at Polebridge Bear Smart training session, May 24, 2023 – photo by Suzanne Hildner
We are particularly excited about an Initial Response Program we have developed in collaboration with Justine Vallieres, bear biologist with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. PBBS volunteers recently completed training and are standing by ready to respond to North Fork land owners who have a bear incident or a bear frequenting their property. The intent is to quickly provide assistance under the guidance of the bear biologists who are often overwhelmed with incidents during the busy summer months. We are able to loan game cameras and scare devices on the short term to identify individual bears and deter them. In doing so we hope to protect the bears from habituation as well as mitigate property damage, keeping both bears and humans safer. PLEASE reach out if you have an issue with a bear frequenting your property and please let FWP know if a bear causes damage or does not respond to hazing. This information helps them determine which individual bears might be involved. Recent research has shown that early efforts at deterring bears is most effective; removing bears to an alternative location often does not resolve the issue as bears tend to migrate back to their previous habitat.
Additionally, PBBS will be expanding its programs this year to include outreach to short term rental property owners with tools to help renters be responsible and safe in bear country. If you own a short term rental, expect an email contact regarding this program.
During the summer of 2022, with support from a Sierra Club grant and private donations, we launched a bear canister program for North Fork residents. The 96 gallon Kodiak bear resistant canisters were made available at a reduced cost for purchase or rent. This program will continue in 2023; please see accompanying information if you wish to purchase or rent a canister.
Feel free to contact Suzanne Hildner with any comments questions or suggestions. Here’s looking forward to a fun filled and safe summer for both humans and bears.
Our own Roger Sullivan was heavily involved with this and gets a well-deserved check-mark in the “win” column . . .
